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Why Your DNA Results Didn’t Show Your Native American Ancestry

“My DNA test didn’t show any of my Native American heritage. The results are wrong,” said Susie. Have you thought the same thing as Susie? DNA testing may be the future of genealogy, but it’s new and complicated. If you aren’t seeing Native American DNA results in your report, this may be why.

A special thanks goes out to my friend and colleague, Kathy Reed, who inspired me dig deeper into understanding DNA testing and why so many people think their test came back ‘wrong’.

Native American DNA Results: Why Didn’t it Show on the Report?

I can’t even begin to number the people in the U.S. who are upset and angry that their test did not show Native American DNA results. There are many reasons why this might have happened.

Maybe your family isn’t actually Native American, after all.

Maybe the Native American person in your family tree is so far removed from the person tested that it didn’t “show up.”

And, maybe it’s because of a misunderstanding on our part.

Let me ask you a question….when I ask, “Are you Native American?” are you actually hearing “Are you Cherokee, Seminole, Shawnee, Apache, or a descendant of the other hundreds of Indian tribes that once lived all over the current day United States?” If that is how you interpreted the question, it is completely understandable. But guess what…DNA companies are not necessarily using that interpretation. When they say “Native American,” their definition refers to peoples who are indigenous to the Americas. And that includes, Inuits of Alaska and Mayans of South America, just to name two!

A portion of the Reference Populations white paper found at 23andMe. To see entire paper see the following url: https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212169298#East_Asian_Native_American or click on the image.

At Family Tree DNA, their reference groups include a population cluster for North & Central America and another for South America. [Read their full statement here.]

For the North & Central American group, they state the following: “The North and Central America cluster consists of present day Native American populations that span from southeastern Alaska down through the western half of the United States and end at the top of Nicaragua.”

For the South American group, they state: “The South America cluster is found in present day Native populations who inhabit Cuba, the Caribbean islands, the regions south of Nicaragua, and as far south as Argentina and Chile.”

In any of these statements, did you read that the reference population is that of known Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Utes, Ojibwe, etc.? Nope, you didn’t. And yet, we continue to be upset when our DNA test results don’t include the results of ‘Native American’. So, unless your ancestors were from these reference populations (mostly South American peoples), your saliva it is not going to end in test results saying you are Native American.

So, What Should We Do Now?

My opinion is…get that DNA test done anyway! Your Native American ancestry can be proved through good old fashion paper trails and exhaustive research. DNA testing is valuable for many reasons, not just to give you an ethnicity report. DNA test results are not ‘wrong’…at least that is not the correct word. Instead, we might say DNA test results are complicated, becoming more accurate over time, and will help the majority of genealogists in their quest to learn their story. So, get that DNA test done!

When I had sent my Ancestry DNA data to Gedmatch; I was identified as having genes from several sub Indian classes such as Clovis, Eskimo, Brazilian and several others. A total of 1.1 percent. This percent coincides with my calculated 1% from Seneca.

Thank you for the information, and the link to why tribes may not be participating. This of course will make it difficult for many people, who believe they are connected to tribes, even if distantly, to discover if they do in fact have a connection.

that us a bunch of Bollocks !!! It doesn’t matter if the Native group is Pima, Cherokee, Lakota, or Mohawk! All these groups are genetically related to eack other, and to groups from Central and South America, and to the reference groups the Karitana and Surui. All these groups are part of the Southern Branch of Native American genetic diversity. In the other hand, the Northern North American branch consist of the Ojibawe, Na Dene Athabaskans like the Aoache, Navajo, Cree, Tlingit, . these groups evolved in the Artic, and the canadian subartic. they branched apart 13,000 years ago, but they are more closely related to each other, than anyother living populations. All Southern North American NAs and South Americans are clustered together phylogenetically. And All Native Amerindians descend from the same founding ancestors, so of course if you have legit NA inheritance, it will show as Native American on a DNA tests. these people are giving false info. NAs hace been isolated for thousands of years, from the same ancestral groups, of course they will be genetically very similar.

Are you a geneticist? My family is listed on the roles and have pictures from the 1800s and you can see the native blood in my family. My sister took another dna test and it came back 12% unknown but ancestry shows nothing.

No, I am not a geneticist, but I have been taking DNA courses relating to genealogy and have tried to keep up-to-date on the changes and new science. If your family is listed on the rolls as “accepted,” then you are good to go! You have the right evidence to prove your Native heritage. Like I said, Ancestry will not likely show your Native American ancestry UNLESS you are also of Mexican or South American descent. However, the science is getting better and better and perhaps with time, our DNA will show even what tribe we come from! Here’s hoping and thanks for reading!

Wrong ! If you have Native American ancestry and they are using Pima, Surui, and Karitana as reference populations, if you have Cherokee, Chumash, Lakota, Apache, Pomo, Miwok, pamunky , You will definitely show Native America DNA. It DOESNT MATTER what tribe you think you are, DNA Doesn’t tell which tribe, but it will tell you if you have Native American DNA. ALL Natives North and South are descended from the same small group of ancestors that entered the Americas! The Author is completely wrong on this!! She is misunderstanding something she has read.

I am definitely not an expert and you are right, I am basing this on what I have read from reputable sources and the many classes I have attended. I am interested to know your sources for the fact that Pima, Surui, and Karitana is so similar to Cherokee, Chumash, Lakota, Apache, Pomo, Miwok, and Pamunky that it will show up in a DNA test. I am being completely sincere here…if I have misunderstood something, I want to make sure I do understand. Now, yes, from what I have learned, I know that many experts have agreed that natives of both North and South are descended from, as you put it, “the same small group of ancestors that entered the Americas.” The thing is, many people have found that Native American is not showing up when they expected it should. I believe this could be because their DNA is so far removed from the NA reference population being used to compare their DNA or they are not Native American after all. For example, I can imagine a person who believes they should be 12% or 25% Native American and finds that no NA or very little show. That would suggest that if indeed they have NA ancestry, that the DNA of the Pima, Surui, and Karitana (again, for example) is so diluted or “far back” in their ancestry, that it would not show up.

My Great Grandmother is full blood Cherokee Indian, complete with role number and listed at the 5 civilized tribes museum. In fact my Aunts still have their benefits to use the tribal medical facilities if they choose. Our DNA test showed no Native American ancestry. Whatever the reason these tests do not provide the full picture.

I used My Heritage DNA. I was looking for relatives since I grew up in foster care. My mother and her only 3 family members I met looked and claimed to be Native American. It did not show up on my DNA reading. My paternal family I did not meet until I was in my late 20’s. They never talked about their heritage. My DNA matches are largely individuals from the Native American Lumbee tribe. They are from an area around Red Springs/Fayetteville, NC. This is where my father is from. Their surnames belong to this Lumbee tribe. I am so confused. If there is not a sample of this particular Native American DNA, should I do it again?

Cherry..
There is no use in doing your DNA again until samples of the United States NA tribe you are interested in are part of the reference population. And, that might not be for a long time. Instead, do your research using traditional family search techniques and find that paper trail that helps support your Lumbee tribe tradition.
Best,
Amie

lumbee are not a prehistirical or a historical NA tribe. Recent DNA studies have shown that lumbees are post columbian conglomerate Multiracial group of marginalizef people like African Slaves, African freeman and White indentured servants who banded together from virginia and colonized North Carolina. none have any NA ancestry except one Male paternal lineage of the Sizemore family. The Mulungeons are also European and African descended. they have none if the founding Mtdna haplogrouos that are found all over the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego Chile.

With the population size on Ancestry increasing, I felt sad that I lost my.1% native grandmother. With the new update September 2018 update to 23andme it now shows a .1 unassigned now though! It’s strange though. I’m able to build a huge tree with paper trails and see photographs. My family DID have it, but it WAS distant, probably 1700s. They were the shooting themselves in the head Jackson’s so they often inflated how much they actually had 🙂

the number one person on native affairs from Alaska who works in washington D.C. is my friend -i know all about tribal affairs and heritage and fake heritage. There are people that are zero native blood and members of tribes for many years as they were let in. My bosses mothers mother was full Athapascan and yes its with a P as told to me by a real one. anyways the family looks very eskimoish and is supposed to be a full1/4 athapascan and other side of family is norwegian. so he took the test and it came out 4% native american 1% jew and 95% northern european. go figure??? he gets full native benifits of free healthcare etc here in Alaska and they have lots of furs native art and things and photos to prove unlike pochahontas that they are for real. Pochahontas acted like shes just a couple generations from nativness. shes so far removed its laughable-let her try an join a tribe and none will have her shes a phoney.

Cherokee, Choctaw, First Nations, etc do show in the Native American/East Asian with 23andMe compared with the current panel. Indigenous Both and South are closely genetically related. It is disingenuous to say it’s the samples. Samples are enough to confirm you have recent ancestry.

Most people are victims of Indian Blood Myth. How many people are excited to see Sub-saharan?

Yes, thats what I’ve been trying to tell these people, and the author doesn’t really understand Native American genetics, and how closely they are all related North, Central and South American Natives.

Exactly right…for example, one of my great-great-great grandparents was of Nansemond Indian descent (comes from the larger Powhatan tribe that was found living in the state of Virginia in the United States) and it showed up on both my Ancestry test I took in the year 2012 and on the 23 and me test I took this year (last month in October 2018) so samples from U.S. tribes are indeed used at both companies. Maybe some people didn’t inherit the chunk of DNA their distant Native American ancestor possessed, but the dna test companies DO have some samples from the Native American populations who have lived here in the U.S. for hundreds of years. I’m not sure how many but they do have some samples from the U.S.

That’s good to know . I’m from Va. and getting ready to take the test , it’s on it’s way to me now … I have paper trail back to late 1600’s Jind of excited to see what mine shows since my Father was 100% Indian I’m thinking I’m going to show 50% … I have 14 grandchildren how are anxious to see my results

I too experienced these type results. I have a Great Grandfather who was 50% Native American and his son who was my maternal Grandfather was 25%, meaning my Mother is 12% and I’m at least 6% NA., so my question is if it’s not showing up it’s got to be camouflaged somewhere in my results. Where though?

I know that a descend from Mary Jamison, who captured by a Shawnee raiding party and sold to the Senecas. She was adopted by the tribe and first married a brave (later died) , and then a chief. She had a daughter Betsey Jamison, who married a John Greenblanket and had a son named John Green. He married a German girl from Pennsylvania. Rather than go further. Mary Jamison was my 5th great grandmother. Both Ancestry and 23 and me did not indicate any Native American ancestry. I sent my DNA data from ancestry to gedmatch. Gedmatch had indicated that I was 1% Native American. I know of other people that had experienced similar results.

Joseph, That is certainly a possibility. Many people will have a difference in their ethnicity results depending on the company they are testing with. This is because each company is using a different reference population and using different algorithms to make ethnic determinations. Further, each company looks at different segments of the DNA strand, which might also cause an ethnic report to differ depending on the company you have tested with. I always like to encourage people to test with multiple companies, not necessarily for ethnic reports, but because it lends to many more cousin matches. Wishing you the very best, Amie

Hi, Jessica! Like I mentioned in the article, when your close relatives are from a U.S. Native American tribe like Cherokee or Choctaw for example, your DNA test will likely not include mention of any Native American ancestry. That’s because there are no DNA reference samples for peoples of many of our U.S. Native American tribes. When these DNA tests show Native American ancestry, their reference populations are mostly from South American Native Americans. I hope that helps you a bit. Wishing you the best, Amie

This is like what im dealing with now. My mothers father is Native American (the typical Cherokee for this area) and both of his parents are Native American as well. It was weird to see my DNA results mainly German and Irish, with nothing about any heritage with darker skin?! I have met these people and also have pictures, and they definitely did NOT look European or french. But if the test cannot see the Native american then, does it show a gap? Thats a weird question but…woldnt they be able to tell something?!

I’ve been doing research into this as well. A lot of the time when your DNA ancestry comes back with no Native American DNA it’s because you’re not Native American. Historically, it was more acceptable to be part NA than it was to be African American, Hispanic, Mexican, or Asian. So if someone in the family line had kids with a POC they would often cover it up by claiming to be related to a NA princess. I’ve found it was often a Cherokee Princess. Tribes didn’t have princesses, so this was obviously false in the first place. I believe my family has experienced the same thing. I’ve always been told I was part Cherokee. My sister and I both did 23 and Me kits, but her results came back more quickly. She is .04% Hispanic and has 0 Native American DNA. That’s a minuscule percentage, I know, but if my results come back similarly it could explain why my grandfather and I are so dark. I’ve tried finding a paper trail. It doesn’t seem to exist. It was my great grandmother’s grandmother who was supposed to be full blooded Cherokee, but I’m just saying, my great grandmother was the whitest woman you’d ever meet and she spent all her time outside. If there’s no Native American DNA showing up in your ancestry results but there’s something else that’s surprising (like Hispanic DNA for my family) an ancestor may have covered up their true heritage at some point. And that’s okay.

I have done 2 DNA test one with Family Tree DNA in 2013 and CRI Genetics this year 2019. I wasn’t looking for NA, just what areas I came from, the 2 test were totally different, from doing genealogy for both sides of family since 2000 the paper trail agrees with Family Tree DNA. Ireland, England, German. 99% European. Family Tree DNA showed these, while CRI Genetics showed most DNA and kinfolks from Germany and Spain.

From research, my grandfather’s mother on my mother’s side had cousins, aunts, and uncles from Powhattan tribe from the Fugates (Fugitts) from 1600 and 1700’s. Is that too far back to have DNA for me born in 1947?

Not that simple to go the good old fashioned paper route, and I’m actually shocked that you would say such a thing about clusters of people who were systematically eradicated and assimilated. Disappointed in this result to say the least. If the Native American peoples such as Ojibwe aren’t counted, then why publish results as N American “settler” –

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Amie Bowser Tennant

About Amie

Amie Bowser Tennant is The Genealogy Reporter bringing you genealogy news and more. She is a professional genealogist, nationally known speaker, and internationally known blogger.
Amie provides blog and written content for many top companies and societies in the genealogy field. Some of her recent publications can be found in the NGS Magazine, the Ohio Genealogical Society News and the OGS Quarterly, and at Legacy News, just to name a few! You can also see her webinars via Legacy Family Tree Webinars, here.